Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) Plans Dividend Increase - $1.51 Per Share

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, June 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of 1.51 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This is a 7.1% increase from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41.

Caterpillar has a payout ratio of 26.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Caterpillar to earn $22.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.5%.

Caterpillar Stock Down 1.2%

CAT traded down $4.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $356.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,609,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,564,350. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Caterpillar has a 12 month low of $267.30 and a 12 month high of $418.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $327.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.25. The company has a market cap of $168.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.37.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by ($0.10). Caterpillar had a return on equity of 58.18% and a net margin of 16.65%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Caterpillar will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CAT shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Caterpillar from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $300.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $490.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Caterpillar from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $309.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $372.92.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, Director David Maclennan acquired 375 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $320.70 per share, with a total value of $120,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,133,617.10. This represents a 5.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Caterpillar

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Caterpillar stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $579,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company's stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.